Finding Emrys (ON HOLD)
by HunterOfTheUnknown
Summary: King Arthur Pendragon wants to find the mysterious man named Emrys. Along with his wife, Queen Guinevere Pendragon, and his Court Sorceress (and sister), Lady Morgana Pendragon, he will embark on a journey to small villages and even other kingdoms to find the Druid King. Nobody knows why until they finally meet and destiny can begin in a new way.
1. King Arthur Pendragon's POV

**A/N: Hey guys! This is my first story on Fanfiction, not in general, just on this site/app. This may just be an exciting experience for all of us. Updates are probably going to be slow because 1) I'm new to writing on here, 2) I have a full time job, and 3) I've never actually finished a story before, except a three-shot that I wrote in the middle of the night, three nights in a row. So, um, sorry if updates don't happen every week. I will try for once a week, twice a week if I can, but probably not. Anyway, now that I've given you some information, let's get to the story.**

 **Summary: King Arthur Pendragon wants to find the mysterious man named Emrys. Along with his wife, Queen Guinevere Pendragon, and his Court Sorceress (and sister), Lady Morgana Pendragon, he will embark on a journey to small villages and even other kingdoms to find the Druid King. Nobody knows why until they finally meet and destiny can begin in a new way.**

 **(AU, no Merthur; sadly; Arwen present; but no kisses; Good!Morgana, Druid King!Merlin, BAMF!Merlin; cause he totally is; Good!Mordred)**

 **Enjoy!!**

Arthur looked at the report his men had brought in. "Leon, is this what I think it is?" The Head Knight nodded, serious look on his face. The King grinned and looked to his right where his Court Sorceress and sister, Morgana Pendragon, sat. She glanced it over and mirrored his grin. Arthur's wife and queen, Guinevere Pendragon, walked in and over to them. "Arthur? What is it?" He handed the report to her and she looked it over. "Is this?" She hesitated and he nodded. "It is." The rest of the councilmen and the Round Table Knights entered the room and sat down in their places. Guinevere handed the report to Sir Leon and sat down on Arthur's left. The Head Knight stood before his chair with the paper in hand, waiting for everyone to settle. Once they had, he looked to his King, who stood and looked around the room. "Gentlemen, and Ladies," He added with a glance to each side of him, "We have been searching for a particular warlock for nearly ten years now. Yesterday, we found traces of his druid camp near the small village of Ealdor. Sir Leon will now read the report from the newly-built guard tower." He sat and Leon cleared his throat.

'Two days ago, we sighted a druid in the village and had our sorcerer, Matthew, follow him back to his camp. They were barely a league away and Matthew spotted the infamous Emrys. He reported the warlock to have short, black hair and strangely pale skin. Emrys had pure gold eyes and many runes on the sighted skin of his arms and neck. The tell-tale druid mark was nowhere to be seen but Matthew stayed to investigate. Yesterday, he came back with no knowledge of any druid camp or even seeing Emrys. Luckily, our new knowledge was written down before he had his memory wiped completely. We then sent a scout into the village to see if anyone knew anything, which gave us no new information. Although, I personally believe to have met a hesitant woman named Hunith. She seemed to know something but denied answering our questions. Matthew tried to mentally communicate with her but she blocked him out immediately. This morning, we sent a patrol into the woods to find the camp. They scoured the forest for until mid-afternoon but could not find any signs of the druids. King Arthur, I believe Ealdor may be our only resource to find Emrys, and within the village, only one woman can lead us to the start. You may want to journey here to question her yourself. She seems unwilling to answer to any of us. She may trust the King who saved her village all those years ago.'

"This report was written by the leader of the guard tower, Sir William." He sat down and nodded to Arthur, who stood up again. "Thank you, Sir Leon. I will be taking at least ten knights with me along with my Court Sorceress, Morgana. Queen Guinevere will be in charge while I am gone." One councilmen, Lord James, spoke up. "And how long will you be gone, M'Lord?" Arthur glanced at Leon and debated it. "Probably no longer than two weeks to hear the full report and question the woman. I will travel back after staying there for three days. Once I am back and have all of the information, I will sending groups of knights, no mare than ten per group, after the druids and Emrys. If we lose him again, we will simply have to wait until he reappears." Slowly, everyone agreed to the declaration. "I need ten knights willing to travel to Ealdor with me. Leon, pick the best men we have outside of the Round Table. We leave in two days." With that, the council was dismissed and Arthur went to his chambers with Guinevere. They laid out maps when Morgana entered the room and hovered around the table. "Sir William said the camp was barely a league from Ealdor so that gives us a perimeter of where they were." Arthur gestured to the general area of where they would search. An enlarged map of Ealdor sat in front of them and Morgana shook her head. "But he never said in which direction so we'd have to search this entire area." She waved her hand over the map and outlined a circle with her magic. Gwen smiled at the obvious use which was banned barely eight years ago. (Arthur had begun searching for Emrys when he was Regent under the guise of killing the man when really he just wanted to find him.) "True." Arthur relented before he pointed to the tower. "If they could see the druid from here, he must have been close to the edge of the village. I know druids like to travel, or at least they seem to walk a lot from what I've seen. Doesn't give us much but we could narrow it down by asking which direction the druid came from and which he left." Gwen looked up at him. "I could write to Sir William and Morgana could use her magic to transport it to him immediately." She suggested and Arthur nodded. "Yes. Also, ask for anymore information about the druids. What some of them looked like, what they wore, where their mark was." Morgana grinned up at him. "Right. That could give us some idea of which druid clan they are and where they like to camp. If it's Iseldir's, we can simply ask him but if Emrys is staying Alator or even Allister, we may not find them so easily." She commented as Gwen grabbed some parchment and a quill. Brother and sister continued with the maps while Gwen wrote a simple little letter.

'Sir William, I write to you in question of your last report. King Arthur and I were wondering if you could tell us any details of the druids from the camp? Where their mark was, what clothes they wore, that sort of thing. Also, if you could tell us which direction the druid Matthew followed came from and which he left? It will give us an idea of where to start looking for them. King Arthur, the Lady Morgana, and a few knights will be traveling to Ealdor in not too long. Your Queen, Lady Guinevere.'

She rolled it up and tied it with a simple ribbon before handing it to Morgana. The sorceress held it in her right hand and put her left hand barely an inch over it. She chanted a few words and with golden eyes, the letter disappeared with a puff of smoke. "Ok. Matthew should be able to send a letter directly to me using the same spell but if he can't, then we'll have to wait for the falcon to return." She said before turning back to Arthur. "Are we really going to wait again if we don't find them?" He nodded and both women stared at him. "What do you want from him? An alliance or something?" Arthur smiled and chuckled at the tone she used. "No, not an alliance." He looked up at both of them. "I want his friendship and the opportunity to know him." Morgana stared at her brother. "Why?" He looked back at the maps and stared at the word 'Ealdor'. "Because he's Emrys. I feel like I know him and I should know everything about him. He feels like my soul-bound opposite that I know nothing about." He banged a fist on the table and clenched his teeth. "I want to know but he keeps running! I know he knows who I am and I know he knows I wouldn't hurt him but he won't let me get close enough to actually know him." He growled before collapsing in his chair. A letter appeared on the table with a flash of gold and a puff of smoke. Morgana opened it and quickly read it.

'Queen Guinevere, I am honored to hear from you and am glad to hear that King Arthur will travel to meet us. Of course, I will gladly give more information for them to make accurate plans. The druid we saw and followed entered Ealdor from the east and left to the south. Before Matthew lost his memory, he remembered the druid taking a long walk and often curving through the trees as if on an unknown path. Fortunately , Matthew is talented with directions and was able to tell us that the druid led him north of Ealdor, probably to confuse him of their location. The druid mark was never spotted, as far as we know, and the druids themselves wore earthly-colored tunics and, usually, brown trousers or skirts. The skirts often went to the women's ankles or, for younger girls, to their knees. Often, the women wore shorter tunics that barely covered their stomachs, but we believe those women to be of the younger generations. Though, I think you may find this next bit more interesting than their clothes. The women, of any age, wear necklaces with rocks or claws on them, always in a design specific to their age. The men wear leather bracelets with either chain, for younger men, or rocks embedded into the leather for the older men. I have seen an elder once, I believe him to be the only one with them. He wore no jewelry and wore a long red robe. He had boots a peasant boy may wear and seemed to love leaving the ones assigned to watching him. Barely a week ago, I watched from the tower as he left two young men behind the barn searching for him and he went into the village alone. It seemed to be a game to him, as far as I could tell. Anyway, I hope the information helped you some and I hope to see the King and the Lady Morgana in good health soon. Farewell for now, Sir William'

"Well, that has certainly helped some." Morgana laid the letter out beside the maps and used some magic to outline the northern part of their perimeter. "This is where he said they were but I still think we should cover the entire area. We can use some of the knights we left at the tower. I could do a sweep of the area, search out any magic and try to find a trail we could follow." Gwen leaned forward to look at the letter. "What of the old man? What use is that information?" Arthur gasped and stood up abruptly. "That man tried to heal Father! He was the one Gaius found for us and we allowed to heal him. Remember? He didn't have enough power to overcome the pendant we found." Morgana nodded. "I was wondering where he went off to." She mused before looking at the map again. "Claw and rock necklaces? Leather bracelets? Which clan liked those again?" Arthur asked and Morgana pulled out her piece of parchment. She laid it out and searched through them. "Claw necklaces is Alvarr. Leather bracelets is Allister. Rock necklaces is Iseldir. All three is none. There's none of them with that combination." She sighed as Gwen grabbed another piece of parchment from Arthur's desk. "The clothes don't match any certain druid camp either. "The skirt differences for women are from three clans, Iseldir being one of them. The tunic detail doesn't match either as both Alvarr and Allister use those." Arthur grabbed another one and unrolled it. "Alvarr's group has their marks on their chest but you see them with the women. Iseldir's has their's on their upper arm but you see them with anything they wear, minus the robes. Allister's is on their lower arm, like the Bastet girl we met once, whom introduced us to them in the first place. The only other one I can think of is Ruaden and Sefa who were from a clan in Annis' kingdom but their's was on the back of the neck, seeable for men with short hair." They all sat down and looked over the three pieces of parchment as well as the map and the letter. "The information doesn't add up with anything we have and so we have no idea where they could be or where they are headed." A knock on the door interrupted their thinking and Arthur turned in his seat. "Come in." The guards held the doors open as three servants entered with dinner. "Ah. Good interruption." Morgana smiled at her brother before waving a hand at the things before them. The letter and parchment pieces went to Arthur's desk while the map rolled itself up and set itself on top of the others. The three servants set the plates in front of the royals and bowed before they left. All three royals gave the servants smiles and 'thank you's before they left. The guards left them in peace and they talked while they ate. Gwen told her husband and her best friend/sister-in-law what she did during the morning. Morgana shared her experiences of teaching four new students of hers how to find the magic web in the air. She explained how they were nearly ready for their assessments so this would be the last lesson she could give them. Arthur told of how well the new knights were doing along with some new squires that he had hoped would shape up before their final assessment in a few months. All in all, they each thought it was a good ending to a normal-ish day.


	2. Emrys' POV

"They nearly found you." Emrys turned to the man beside him. "I know. Next time, we may not be so lucky." A woman walked up to them and touched his elbow. "Emrys, why is he searching for you? Why is he searching you out when magic is no longer banned?" He sighed and led them to the camp. "Everyone! Come here!" He called out and everyone slowly walked to him. "I know you may be scared of why Camelot's King is hunting us again. I promise you all now, he will never find us. I swear on my magic, King Arthur Pendragon will never harm any of you." The gold in his eyes strengthened and the younger druids cheered for him. "What about you, my lord?" An older woman asked and he turned to her. "Pendragon is interesting, unusually so. But you know as well as I do that he could never kill me or even mortally wound me." Three of the elders shared looks and he looked to them. "Anya? Erin? Joyce? What is it?" The three sisters stepped forward. "Lord Emrys, there is something we did not tell you." He glanced between them. "About Pendragon?" Anya nodded but Erin spoke. "There is a prophecy, a legend we do not tell lightly." Another elder, Jo-ann, stepped forward. "There is a reason for that, Erin. It is not to be told until they are ready." Joyce practically hissed at her, "They will never be ready if they believe they are enemies. He needs to be told." Emrys held up a hand and they stopped. "Please, if this legend has anything to do with my name and my power, then tell me. I deserve to know." Anya stepped forward again and put a hand on his shoulder.

"There is a prophecy with a legend surrounding it. The prophecy is 'When Albion's darkest time is near, the Once and Future King will rise to his throne and unite Albion in an era of peace and prosperity for all peoples. But beware, fore he will face many dangers from friend and foe alike. A man will be born to protect him. He will be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth. Only with Emrys will the King survive to take his throne. Together, they are unstoppable. Apart, they are weak and incomplete."

Joyce and Erin gasped and pulled Anya back. "That was not to come up!" Joyce whispered while Emrys stared at her sister. "He needed to know!" She argued back and Erin covered her mouth. "Sister! You have betrayed the legend!" Jo-ann rolled her eyes. "No, she did not. She let it slip, that is all." She turned to their leader. "Lord Emrys? Any questions?" He closed his eyes for a moment before turning to look at her. "Who is the Once and Future King? Is it Pendragon?" He asked and she hesitantly nodded. He nodded and let his shields over the camp fall. His golden eyes turned to sky blue with a few gold flecks within them. He opened them and let his magic fall from the air. "I was supposed to protect him?" Everyone gaped at him and Jo-ann stared into his eyes. "Y-yes." She whispered and he looked to the ground. "He's king now and I was never there to protect him or guide him. He lifted the ban without me and got himself a court sorceress. Is this why I feel empty? Why I seem to know what he's feeling?" Anya nodded and lifted his chin.

"He's the other half of your soul, my lord. You are connected in ways nobody knows. You are to lead the magical, he is to lead the mundane. You are the two halves of the world in which we live. You are the only ones who can fully unite us all in peace and prosperity. It is your destiny and the very reason for your power." She whispered as she studied the blue eyes.

He nodded and straightened up. Emrys brought his shields back up and his eyes glowed gold once more. "We need to move again. Pendragon will be here in two weeks." He jumped onto a rock and looked at his people, his clan. "We will move further into King Lot's land. The further we get from Camelot and it's King, the safer we will be." He jumped down, swallowed his anxiety, and used his magic to pack camp faster than anyone else. A white blur landed in front of him and he laughed. "Aithusa! Good timing!" 'Can you carry some of our camp supplies?' He asked his daughter-dragon and she nodded. He patted her neck before loading some of the supplies onto her back. She had grown but was still barely five years of age. She carried the tents and extra supplies to the place he pictured in her mind while they walked. When night fell, Emrys used his magic to carry the sleeping elders and the youngsters. Those closest to his age stayed awake with him until they too fell asleep. The Earth kept him awake and gave him enough energy to get them all safely to a new location by the time the sun rose.

When people woke up, he set them down but kept walking. He slowed for the elders when they woke but kept going. The man and woman from earlier, a 'trading' couple named Tristan and Isolde, shared a look before they sped up to walk with the leader. "Emrys, you need sleep." Isolde said and he shook his head. "I don't. The Earth will keep me awake and give me energy. We need to keep going." She sighed and gestured to Tristan behind his back. "No, you need to sleep." He hit Emrys in the head with a rock and they quickly caught him and brought him to the others. "He wasn't cooperating."

The four elders glared at him but quickly tended to the slight wound before letting the men carry their leader. They kept going and ate on the way. Tristan and Isolde led the way to where Aithusa was waiting for them. The men and women set up camp while the elders kept the children out of the way. The two non-druids kept watch over Emrys with Aithusa while everyone worked. When he woke up, he set up the shields and all of the other protective measures he usually took. The longing and empty feeling in his chest was stronger and he knew Pendragon was feeling it too. 'I will never let him harm them, no matter my destiny.' He thought to himself that night as he took first watch. Tristan took second watch and left him to sleep in his tent.

That night, Emrys dreamt of a golden King, a golden warlock, a silver Queen, and a silver witch. The four stood on the King's balcony in Camelot. The King turned to the warlock and smiled a golden smile. 'Together, they are unstoppable.' Suddenly, the dream changed to the four in chains. The warlock was separated from the others and the longer the distance from the King, the weaker his struggles were until both men collapsed. A golden glow came from the warlock and another came from the King. They met in the middle and became one as their bodies grew colder and paler. 'But apart, they are weak and incomplete.' It changed again to show the two visions side by side. 'Only if the two work as one can Albion prevail and magic be free forever!'

He jumped awake to the morning sun shining on his camp. "Only if the two work as one can Albion prevail and magic be free forever." He repeated quietly before he shook his head and got ready for the morning (truthfully, evening) He went out to see a red caped man entering the camp. He waved a hand and pinned him to a nearby tree. "Who are you? How did you find us?" He growled but the knight grinned at him. "Merlin! Merlin! I'm here in peace!" He held up his hands as Emrys tightened his hold on him. "My name is Emrys. Answer my questions." Isolde walked forward to stand beside him and the knight looked to her. "Isolde! Surely you remember me?" She shook her head. "Answer him." She nodded to Emrys, who relaxed his grip just slightly.

"My name is Lancelot and I found you by simply following you. I mean no harm." Emrys tightened his grip. "Lancelot?" Tristan walked forward and grinned at him. "The skilled swordsman that accompanied me on my many trips?" The knights nodded frantically. "Tristan! Thank the gods." Tristan put a hand on Emrys' shoulder. "He's a friend, Emrys. You can let him go." Emrys hesitated. "He's a knight of Camelot." He insisted but Tristan gave him a small glare. "Fine. You owe me." He let him down and the knight gripped Tristan's forearm in greeting. He turned to the warlock and held out his hand. "Merlin? Do you remember me?" Emrys shook his head. "Why do you call me Merlin? My name is Emrys." Lancelot looked taken aback and he glanced curiously at Tristan who shrugged. "The only one remembers is his mother but he won't let himself go near her in fear of leading King Arthur to her. All he knows is his name is Emrys, he's the most powerful warlock to ever live, and that he's the King of Druids. It's all he knows now." Lancelot gaped at him before turning to Emrys again.

"I was the only one who knew about your magic. You helped me kill a Griffin and for that, I kept your secret. You helped me live my dream of becoming a knight of Camelot. About ten years ago, you disappeared and no one knew where you went. The last one to see you was me and you told me you wanted to go for a 'midnight run' which was our code for visiting the Great Dragon. I told you that I'd be waiting for you at the edge of the forest but you never turned up." Emrys shook his head. "I don't know you. None of that happened. I've never even been inside of Camelot!" He exclaimed and Isolde looked up at him. "Then how do you know the castle inside and out?" He hesitated for a moment before answering. "I walk it in my dreams. It's simply Pendragon's memories being transferred to me." She smirked. "You said you walked down halls Pendragon didn't know about, despite living there his entire life. You told me that you knew he didn't walk those halls but he knew they were there. One specific hall you called 'The Magic Hall' because it led to Lady Morgana's chambers and was covered in spells. 'Layers and layers of powerful spells' you said."

He stared at her and Lancelot grinned. "You know those halls because you've walked them before." Emrys glanced around before pulling the traders into his tent, Lancelot followed for need of something to do and to see more of his friend again. "Sir Lancelot. Explain to me what happened ten years ago. The week before I apparently 'disappeared'." They sat down and Lancelot leaned forward on the small table.

"The week before you disappeared was when King Uther fell ill. Nobody knows what happened to him but you told me you had your suspicions. Lady Morgana tried every healing spell she could but he never got better. Three days after he fell ill, you changed into an old man and tried healing him with everything you had. You didn't want Arthur to lose his only parent, especially to magic of any kind. Barely a day later, he was confined to his bed because he lost the use of his legs. That was when you found the pendant on his neck. You took it off and kept it to 'memorize the magical signature' as you told me. You wouldn't tell me if you did or not but you did say that you would have to take it to the dragon to see if he knew it. For the remainder of the week, you were busy working for Gaius, the physician, because an outbreak of some sickness had gotten at least ten people in the lower town. It was spreading and he had you making the cure nearly all day." He stopped to take a deep breath. "Finally, everyone was cured and you had the evening off. You decided to hang out with me and the other knights before going to bed early. I was guarding the northern gate that night when you snuck out of the castle, said you were going to meet the dragon, and disappeared. Nobody has seen you since." Emrys stared at him.

"Is this why Pendragon has been searching for me?" Lancelot shook his head. "He doesn't know that you're Emrys. He learned of the legend surrounding you both and has decided to find you so you can unite Albion with him." The two looked at the floor with identical sighs. Emrys wanted to go back and trust Pendragon not to hurt his druids or his mother but he couldn't bring himself to face his old friend. He knew and remembered everything Lancelot said and even more from before that but he didn't want anyone to think he left on purpose. He wanted them to think that he simply couldn't remember anything and that he truly thought 'Emrys' was his only name. He didn't want to be a coward but he knew he was for lying to his friend. "Sir Lancelot, may I speak with you alone?" He asked with a glance to the trading couple. They nodded after a moment and left the tent. Emrys quickly put up a silencing shield.

"Lance, I remember everything, I'm sorry." His friend looked up at him in shock. "You do?" He nodded. "I wanted everyone to simply think that I lost my memory and was taken in by a druid clan, found to be Emrys, and told I was the druid king. I couldn't stay in Camelot when Uther was sick. Arthur's enemies haven't made anything easier for me since he was named king. I want to go back so badly. I can't stand the empty feeling in my chest anymore and especially the longing feeling I feel for Camelot. But for Arthur to be safe, I have to lead our enemies away, no matter the dangers to myself." Lancelot stared at him for a long moment. "You've been hiding because you want them to follow you and not focus on Arthur? You could have done that in Camelot! You were doing that perfectly fine in the citadel." Emrys hesitated before shaking his head and sighing. "I was but back then, our enemies weren't in Camelot itself. They were outside of the city and I could lead them into my own territory. But when Camelot is also their home? When they know it almost as well as I do? I couldn't take the risk that they might slip past me somehow. I had to lead them away, so I did. I lead them to my other home and risked my mother in the process." He took a deep breath. "They're gone now. I can come home, I promise."

His friend grinned at him and they both stood up. "In the morning, I suppose?" Emrys-, no Merlin nodded and gave Lancelot a hug. "Thank you for everything, Lance. I couldn't have done a lot without you to keep me sane." He whispered before they let go of each other. Lancelot left so Merlin could get some sleep. He laid down and enchanted the tent ceiling to reflect the night sky. He stared at the stars and caught a glimpse of the moon. "Arthur Pendragon, I shall see you in a few days. I miss you, old friend." And with that, he fell asleep.

A/N: Alright! Second chapter done! How do you guys like the different pov's? I thought it'd be a good idea to switch them up so you can see both sides of the story from the views of our legendary boys. I did notice that I have a review on the last chapter so I'll answer to that really quick.

Thank you, anon, for reading, btw! First off, you mentioned my layout. I know there's a lot of people talking in one paragraph but I've never really felt comfortable with starting the paragraphs with talk and ending it with that same person. There'd be a ton of really short ones and then some really long ones with no dialogue and just nothing interesting in them. If more people agree that I should switch the layout, I'll try it out for a chapter or two and see how it goes.

Next, you talked about Arthur demanding to know Emrys/Merlin. I didn't exactly mean for it to come out as demanding rather than him feeling frustrated because he has this subconcious need to get to know him better. I think Arthur wants to know Emrys better because of the connection he feels to him. To me, they have one soul abiding in two bodies, literally soul-bound, and Arthur has this need to know the other half of his soul. I feel that he's frustrated because he feels this and subconciously knows Emrys feels the same but keeps running from him. That's why I chose for Arthur to say 'soul-bound opposite' because I believe that's exactly what they are. Merlin is dark-haired and pale while Arthur is light-haired and tan. They're opposites in how they look but they're also half of the same soul, literally. Which brings me to my personal headcanon that the Triple Goddess, or whoever really, made their soul and split it into two, a magical half and a mundane half. And because Arthur was born, Merlin needed to be born, so Arthur was born without magic, or mundane, while Merlin is magic itself, down to his half of their soul. To me, this explains why if Arthur hadn't been born, the purge would never have started, Balinor and Hunith would never have met and Merlin wouldn't be born but because Arthur was born and Uther started the purge in his grief which made him hate everything magical, including the Dragonlords, and so Balinor ran, found Hunith and Merlin was born. When I watched the show, I realized that they may be opposites in a lot (Hair color, kinda skin color, mannerisms) but their eyes, the supposed 'windows to the soul', are both blue. I thought it was an interesting detail that they're opposites but they have nearly the same eyes or the same eye color anyway. So, really, it was my own headcanons with my thoughts on the show that went into me choosing to say soul instead of anything else.

Thirdly, the topic of slash. I had decided that there wasn't going to be any merthur, not that that's bad in any way shape or form. I do have Arthur married to Gwen, a ship which I'm sure many people love, and it is going to stay that way. Merlin and Arthur are going to be purely platonic, just as they (sometimes) are in the show. I can appreciate a great friendship but you may be getting the wrong feeling from it. I intend to have the two be best friends, nothing more and nothing less. If you could possibly comment again and tell me how exactly I included hints of slash into the first chapter, I would be very grateful. I'm always willing to listen and learn more about how to get my point across better.

Sorry for the little rant about the second point but I felt the need to go into depth with my choosing of 'soul-bound' and to defend Arthur about his appearing arrogance. Anyway, review with more critisism if you like! I'll see you all in the next chapter! Peace! ~Icy


	3. 3: Pre-Interview

The next day for Arthur, Gwen, and Morgana started early. One of the Round Table knights, Sir Lancelot, had returned from his self-given quest. He had new information for the royals that he thought they needed to know right away. It was barely after dawn that their servants woke them and got them ready. The Round Table council met in the usual chambers they had used since Arthur became king. When the three walked in, they were met with serious faces instead of the cheeriness the knights always had.

"What happened?" Arthur asked immediately. Lancelot stood from his chair and nodded to his king. "I found traces of the druid clan we've been tracking."

Arthur perked up and started the meeting almost instantly. "Sir Lancelot, your report." The knight stayed standing as the rest sat down.

"I was heading south of the small village of Ealdor when I noticed a barely visible shimmer in the trees. Walking closer showed me a camp filled with druids. I saw one tent bigger than the others and a man was exiting through the flap. He had black hair, pale skin, and golden eyes. I may have tripped and somewhat fell into the camp. The man noticed me immediately and pinned me to a tree with his magic. Two more people whom we know well, Tristan and Isolde, came over and got him to let me go. We went to his tent and formally introduced each other. I told him why you were looking for him and his clan. He seemed to understand but still wouldn't come to Camelot." He hesitated and Arthur raised an eyebrow. "He told me something very interesting that I feel he should tell you. I cannot tell his secrets without his permission."

Arthur nodded, serious faced. "Thank you, Sir Lancelot." The knight nodded and sat down. "This man, he is Emrys?" Gwen asked and Lancelot nodded again. "Indeed he is. Lancelot, do you remember where you spotted the camp?" Morgana asked as she waved a hand. Maps of Ealdor and southern Camelot appeared on the table and the knight hesitated. "If you feel you can't divulge their location, that's fine but at least give us something to use." She said and he sighed. "Their camp was in this region." He said as he leaned to hover his hand over a part of the maps.

"Perfect!" Arthur exclaimed, determination in his eyes. Morgana highlighted the part he gestured to. "We figured up last night that they were near there. When we get to Ealdor, I want groups of three knights each to search certain parts of the region. Morgana, you can scour it looking for magical traces, anything to get us closer to him. Sir Leon, how many knights are currently at Ealdor?"

The knight instantly answered. "We have fifteen knights stationed at or near the village."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him. "They seem to have reoccurring problems with bandits and raiders so I sent more than the usual to protect them better." The King nodded in agreement before thinking. "We'll be taking ten knights with us tomorrow so we can send eight groups of knights into the forest."

Morgana used her magic to divide the area into eight. "We could do 6 groups of 4 or 5 groups of 5 instead, Arthur." She divided it up into the two suggestions. "They could split into smaller groups of 2 to 3 to cover more of their area." She used a little bit more to signify the knights as they searched through the forest.

"Ok. 5 groups of 5 is good. They can split into 2 groups of 2 and 3 and we can give them a certain amount of area to search. Morgana?" She split the magic into the five groups and showed the knights walking through the areas. "Perfect. Sir Leon, which knights have you picked to go with us?"

He stood up and pulled out a small list. "The ten knights I have chosen are Sirs' Lucan, Erik, Thomas, Rodney, Robert, Ryan, Michael, Christopher, Nicholas, and Anthony. I have told them to be ready to go by dawn tomorrow." Arthur smiled. "First trip for three of them. Sirs Nicholas, Christopher, and Michael were squires the last time they went outside of Camelot."

Morgana groaned. "We'll have to initiate them, I suppose. I get to do it because last time, you failed to." She looked pointedly at her brother who rolled his eyes but grinned at her. "I did not fail to initiate them. I wanted you to do it but you failed to deliver." She scoffed and waved away the maps. "That's a bunch of-." Gwen cleared her throat and interrupted the retort. "Ok children, calm down. Now, we have a plan so let's get to it. You leave tomorrow and the knights know to be ready. We need to figure up the defenses for Camelot while her King and Court Sorceress are away. As well as dealing with the Lords." She pointed out and Arthur smiled at her.

"Ok. Everyone's dismissed so we can talk to the Lords." Sir Gwaine stifled a laugh as he walked out. Barely a second later, the royals could hear him laughing very loudly from down the corridor. Morgana rolled her eyes as Arthur called for the Lords and Ladies of the other council. Within minutes, the other council was in the room and sitting to speak with their king.

"We have a plan of action when we go to Ealdor. The finer details are not necessary but we will be searching the forest thoroughly for the druid camp." The older lords nodded in agreement while the younger lords studied their king for a moment. "King Arthur, why are you so determined to find this 'Emrys'?" He looked at the man, Lord Samuel.

"I want to find Emrys because he is powerful and would be a wonderful ally as he is the Druid King." He hesitated for a brief second. "The druids surround every kingdom and every castle in the five kingdoms. If their king declared war on any one of us, our allies would be trapped within their own kingdom and we would be surrounded by the enemy. I want to make a peace treaty and an alliance with Emrys so this doesn't happen to us." He explained quickly.

It was mostly true, what he said, the druids did surround every castle and kingdom but he had a feeling their king didn't like violence anymore than a child did. He somehow knew that Emrys would never declare war on a kingdom unless they had wronged him in a severe way. 'Starting another purge' kind of way, as he always thought.

"I see. So, you will invite him to the castle and make the peace treaty here?" Arthur shook his head. "Not quite. If it suits him, I will make up the peace treaty with his advisors so as to better get on his good side. If he wants to come to Camelot and talk here with my advisors, he will be welcome." They agreed, slowly but surely, and he dismissed them for the time being. "All morning with your councils? How are you still alive?" Morgana snarked and he glared at her before sighing.

"What I said was true. I do want an alliance with him because the druids surround us but that is only a quarter of the reason." Gwen set a hand on his shoulder and leaned into him. "What's the rest?" She asked.

"I have this need to meet him. I don't understand it and I can't quite explain it. I've had this tingling feeling in the back of my mind telling me to find him, invite him into Camelot, and to show him my kingdom." Morgana walked up to his other side and raised an eyebrow. "A tingling feeling in the back of your mind?" He nodded.

"Sounds like a mental link. May I?" He nodded again and she set her pointer fingers on his temples. They both closed their eyes as Gwen backed up, giving the siblings some space. Morgana delved into his mind and straight to the back. She saw a small ball of gold and poked at it until it opened up to her. It sucked her in and she found herself in a child's memory.

It was Arthur when he was two. His nurse sat near him as he played with his toys. Suddenly, a wave of pure gold washed over him and he giggled. A pale yellow fog settled around him as his nurse stared in awe. He looked up at her and spoke in complete sentences, something he had yet to do at that point.

"Did you feel that, Lyssa? That is my guardian, my protector. He's powerful, isn't he?" He giggled again. "My Emrys is finally here! I can't wait to meet him!" The fog disappeared and he went back to playing with his toys. His nurse looked into his eyes and gasped. "Arthur! Your eyes!" He tilted his small head. "They have a gold tint to them! It's so amazing, my prince." She whispered and he looked away from her.

Morgana backed out of the memory and out of her brother's mind. "HOLY -." Arthur covered her mouth. "What was that?" He asked as he put his hand down. "That was you, when you were two, getting hit by Emrys' magic. That little feeling you have where you can sense his feelings and sometimes thoughts? That's his magic linking you together. It's been there this entire time!" She started freaking out. Arthur stared at her as he ran over the memory again. "That golden fog-type thing? That was his magic flooding me, wasn't it?" She nodded as she mumbled.

"It's a mental link that allows you to see what's he feeling and thinking but it's also his magic, which doesn't make any sense unless.." She hesitated for a second before shaking her head. "No, that's impossible. He can't be… but he is Emrys, so maybe? But then again, he may have accidentally done it but it wouldn't have the same effect. Plus, some of the legends say the two are near the same age but younger than his charge? Couldn't be then so older but how could a 3 or 4 year old have done that? No, gotta be older but then the legend would be wrong and that can't be it. It hasn't been so far. One time thing? I doubt it." Arthur caught from her mumbles and he raised an eyebrow.

"Morgana?" She turned to him. "Are you ok? Maybe, you ask me some things? Since, I'm connected to him." She stared for a long moment before nodding and they sat down together. "It's impossible that it is both a mental link and a piece of his magic. It's never been done before and when the legends say you two are near the same age, it's definitely impossible that he did it when you were two because he'd have to be a year old and nobody has their magic that young, not even Emrys."

Arthur smiled at her before setting his hand on top of hers to stop her ramblings. "So, this thing in my mind is a mental link, yeah?" She nodded. "Maybe I can reach through and ask him these things or you can?" She gaped at him before excitedly nodded. She set her pointer fingers back on to his temples and they were taken back to the gold ball. They reached through and were met by a barrier. Arthur 'knocked' on it and a 'door' opened to them. The siblings were standing in a field. Green, with flowers and trees. Arthur sat on the ground under an oak tree while Morgana inspected the dream world. A figure entered the field and sat next to Arthur. Morgana immediately turned and walked over without saying a word.

"Hello." Arthur said as he turned to the figure. He was covered in shadows and they hid him completely. "Hello, my king." He said and Morgana sat with them, making a triangle of them. "Are you Emrys?" She asked and he nodded.

"You are here for questions. Ask away, my friends."

 **A/N: Sorry for cutting it short there. The interview will be next chapter and it will be very filling. If you guys want to, you can put your own questions that you want them to ask him in the reviews or you can send them to me personally. I'll probably find them easier that way. Anyway, we have some comments to answer so I'll do that quickly.**

 **Coolestbee : Thanks for reading! No need to worry about giving your opinion! I love it, absolutely love it! I did try your suggestion, I think. Is it good? It's kind of weird writing like this but if you and everybody else like it, I'll keep doing it and get used to it. I tried my best to separate the different things and it is a slow transition as I am learning how to write it like you want. It was a bit jumbled before, wasn't it? I realize that now, after reading my previous stories. Thanks again for reading and thanks for giving your opinion! I appreciate it a lot.**

 **Anon : I know Colin was chosen because of his elfish looks but I was talking more of the universe within the show, not the show itself. My headcanon of the split soul resides with the universe in which Merlin and Arthur live. I know they aren't real, so to speak, but I feel that their lives are real in an alternate universe to ours, maybe even a parallel universe. That is what my ideas live in and where they come from.**

 **Hopefully, these next few chapters will give you a better insight in to my idea of a split soul.** **Alright, thanks for reading everyone! Review on the newest layout and tell me what you think of it! And add some questions you think Morgana and Arthur would have for Merlin/Emrys. See you all next time! _~I.E.A_**


	4. 4: The Interview

**Chapter 4: Interview time! (Third person POV)**

 ** _(Quick note before we start. If you don't like my headcanon of the two boys being connected, then don't read. It's as simple as that. I'm not going to win you over and I can't make you read it. I just want to write my story and have people who like it, review and tell me what they think. When I asked for opinions, I didn't mean from people who think they can make me change my headcanon or my story. The plot and story line are staying the same and both are revolving around my idea. Simple solution for those who can't stand the idea of them being connected by their souls, don't read my story because it is going to have that little thing mentioned a lot. Don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that. ~I.E.A)_**

 _"You are here for questions. Ask away, my friends."_

They were silent for a moment before the two Pendragons looked at each other and Arthur opened his mouth.

"Why are we connected?" The shadowed figure of Emrys seemed to smile at him. "We are connected by more than the piece of magic inside of you, my king." Arthur looked curious at that.

"We are part of a prophecy. Two sides of the same coin, some say. The Once and Future King and Emrys." He was being vague and Morgana didn't like it, so she intervened.

"What prophecy? A druid one?" She asked snarkily but Emrys nodded, shocking her. "King Arthur, would you like to hear it?" Arthur nodded frantically and reminded the other two of a child at Yule time.

" _When Albion's darkest time is near, the Once and Future King will rise to his throne and unite Albion in an era of peace and prosperity for all peoples. But beware, fore he will face many dangers from friend and foe alike. A man will be born to protect him. He will be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth. Only with Emrys will the King survive to take his throne. Together, they are unstoppable. Apart, they are weak and incomplete."_ He recited and both siblings gaped at him.

Arthur started to smile but a sudden thought made him frown. "Why have you been running from me? If the prophecy states that apart we are weak, why are you getting farther away from me?"

Emrys sighed and looked to the ground. "I am protecting my druid camp. They took me in and taught me so much about magic. They're like family to me and I want to protect them. I want to trust you not to hurt them but they mean too much to me." Arthur straightened his back slightly.

"I give you my word. If you come to Camelot with your camp, you will not be harmed in any way. If any of my people go against this, they will be dealt with accordingly. None of your people will be harmed if they use magic, as the ban is already lifted but if they are discriminated against by the older citizens, I will deal with it."

Emrys gave him a surprised but doubtful look and Arthur smiled slightly. "I give my word as a King as well as my word as a knight." The other man nodded as Morgana raised an eyebrow. "You look familiar. How come?" He tensed as he looked to her.

"I do not know, Lady Morgana." He looked away quickly. Please, not now. Not until I know Camelot is safe to come back to. He thought before he turned his eyes back to Arthur. "Anything else you want to ask?" Arthur nodded.

"Will you tell us where you are or come to Camelot?" Emrys nodded. "I will go to Ealdor. My camp will stay where they are and take care of themselves while I am gone. I will meet you there?"

Arthur nodded with a small smile. "I had planned to go there anyway. I admit, we were planning on tracking you."

Emrys looked surprised but not shocked at all. He looked like he expected for Arthur to be tracking him. Flashes of a rugged servant from the past went through Arthur's mind. No name, face, or words came to him but the very picture of the servant gave him a sense of déjà vu. He focused on the picture in his mind until he saw it clearly. The man had black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. He was just barely taller than Arthur and had a goofy smile. In every memory Arthur knew of, he slouched but gave off an air of importance. One memory he had was before his coronation. The servant was very solemn while he dressed Arthur up in his ceremonial clothes. 'I am sorry about your father, Arthur. I may not have liked him much but he was your father. I know what it feels like to lose a parent.' The words flashed with the memory and he remembered wondering where his servant was the next day. That was when George walked in and seemed to fill the missing man's place. Even had the similar clothing to cover the other's existence. Arthur hadn't even thought of him until now.

"Why him?" He mumbled in confusion. Morgana and Emrys looked at him in surprise and worry. Arthur looked up at Emrys and the shadows seemed to dissolve off of him. "Why do you look like my servant?" Arthur asked and Morgana glanced between the two.

"Arthur. He looks nothing like George."

"Not him, Morgana. The other one, from before. The one from before my coronation."

"George has been your servant for as long as I can remember, Arthur. There has never been any other."

"There has! He looks exactly like Emrys!" Arthur paused. "Black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, tall and gangly. You look exactly like him." His eyes widened.

"Arthur?" "I do not know whom you are talking about." The two spoke at the same time and glanced at each other before focusing back on the king.

A memory flashed through Arthur's mind, fast as lightning but he still understood it. "Ealdor!"

"His mother lived in Ealdor! We went to fight for them because my father couldn't send any knights. Gwen came with and I snuck after you when he refused to let me go. They were getting raided and needed help so we showed them Ealdor was protected. That's why I chose to station a guard tower there after I took it from Lot."

"You told the council it was because they got attacked and raided the most." Morgana commented.

Arthur nodded, glazed look on his face. "That's true, it does. But it was mostly because his mother lived there and every time I met her, she acted like a mother to me. I wanted her and her village to be protected when I couldn't be there to fight for them."

She gave him a look that said 'I don't know what's happening in your head but I intend to find out.' While Emrys simply looked surprised and shocked.

"Why are you shocked now?" Arthur asked in his confusion. Emrys blinked and settled his face into a neutral look.

"I don't understand how you could know that." He whispered, half to himself. He didn't know or understand how his powerful amnesia spell could be wearing off. Morgana seemed to know nothing of him but Arthur acted like he was remembering things. This isn't supposed to happen. He panicked for a second.

"Know what?" Morgana turned to him.

"My mother lives in Ealdor. I was going to visit her while I was there."

Their eyes widened as he stared at Arthur. Merlin paused time to investigate his spell. He looked at the spell he had placed and went into the depths of it. It was starting to unravel at the middle but the rest looked perfectly fine. It was supposed to be like a building. A few of the supports could fall but it would still hold. Except, Arthur's spell/house's floor and ceilings were crumbling, not the supports. It was the inside, not the walls that were failing. Merlin looked closer to the spell and realized there was a small golden energy destroying it. He recognized it immediately.

That's a piece of my magic. How is it inside of Arthur and how is it attacking my spell independently? He thought as it turned to his presence. It shuffled towards him and he sent a small thread of magic to it, hoping it would recognize him. It acted like a cat, rubbing against the thread and seemingly purring. He sent another thread to fix the spell but the golden energy attacked it. He brought it back to himself along with the other one. It forgot him and went back to tearing the spell apart. He watched it as it tore through the supports and slowly returned to himself. Merlin let time continue and watched as Arthur regained a few memories the spell had blocked.

Arthur stared at Emrys as he was sucked into a lost memory. ' _Arthur!' The servant yelled as some rocks fell from the top of the ravine. Arthur turned to make sure his friend was ok before spinning around again and cutting up some enemies. Suddenly, he felt light-headed and he slowly turned his head to see his fr- servant kneeling on the ground, pushed there by some bandit. Another had hit him in the head with a rock. 'Merlin,-.' He was cut off as he passed out_ and the memory ended.

"Merlin. My servant, Merlin. My Friend, Merlin." Arthur whispered as he looked into Emrys' eyes. "You're name isn't Emrys, it's Merlin."

 _My mother liked to watch hawks and falcons when she was little. She always said she named me after her favorite, the merlin falcon. My name is a little piece of her that I will always carry with me._

"You told me you were named Merlin because your mother, Hunith, watched hawks and falcons as a child and named you after her favorite, the merlin falcon." Merlin gaped at him. The spell was being destroyed faster than he thought it would and that was probably a bad thing.

Morgana looked at him as if he was crazy. "Arthur. What are you talking about?" He ignored her in favor of staring at Merlin. Suddenly, another memory made it's way to the forefront of his mind.

 _Merlin was standing beside his bed with one hand hovering above Arthur's head. "I'm sorry, Arthur. Hopefully soon, you will see my reasoning for this. Old friend, I have my reasons for disappearing like this. I will explain them when the problem we face is solved." A flash of gold and the King's eyelids starting drooping. A forced sleep started taking him but before it could settle in fully, he heard Merlin say one last thing. "I am truly sorry I had to do this, Arthur. But this enemy is too close to home for my liking. I will see you soon, Moy righ*."_

"What were your reasons for leaving? For hiding your magic?" Arthur asked. "What enemies were you talking about that night?"

Merlin sighed, knowing his King remembered the night he left. "I left because there were enemies in the castle who knew they had to get rid of me to kill you. I made sure they followed me away from the castle before dealing with them. They were too close to home for me so I couldn't take the chance that they knew a hallway I didn't. I couldn't risk your life for my mistakes so I left. I made sure no one remembered me. The memories of me were replaced with George or some other servant. The only ones who remembered me were Gaius, Lancelot, and Gwaine because they knew about my magic and they could protect you while I was gone." He stopped for a second so they could take in the information before answering the other questions.

"I hid my magic for several reasons. When we first met, I hid it because you were a prat and you didn't know me well enough to not tell your father about me. After that, I knew you were duty bound to tell him about me even if we were close friends by that point. When your father passed, I couldn't tell you because it was too many close calls with the enemy that I needed to lure them away before I could tell you."

"The enemies I was talking about was three clans of dark druids, druids who go against our prophecies and wish to bring magic back by killing those without the gift. I dealt with one of them soon after I left by luring them to the Lake of Avalon and the Triple Goddess took care of them. The second clan followed me into a ravine and was attacked by Serkets and a light druid clan. They became my friends and they are the druids I am protecting. The third clan was dealt with by those of Ealdor who continued to train after we saved them along with a friend of mine." His eyes glittered as he mentioned Aithusa.

"Can I get all my memories back?" Morgana asked and Merlin nodded. He put his pointer fingers to her temples and searched for his spell. He tore it down and carefully placed all her memories of him back where they belonged. He let go of her only to have her tackle hug him.

"Merlin! How dare you leave like that!" He smiled as she let him go.

"I'm sorry, Morgana but I had to. I couldn't let them have Camelot for themselves." She grinned at him.

"The druids taught you spells, didn't they?" He nodded. "Can you teach me some of them?" His smile turned into a grin at her hopeful question. "Of course. I can't have Camelot's Court Sorceress lack special druid spells, can I?"

Arthur shook his head with a smile. "How about mine?"

Merlin turned to him and reached into his mind. The golden energy sensed his presence and why he was there. Together, the two of them tore down what was left of the spell and Merlin let the energy take care of the memories. His King chuckled as the memories of those years flashed before his eyes. Every morning where Merlin dragged him out of bed, despite him being a prince, or the meals they ate together because his friend hadn't had time to eat at Gauis' and it was easier to just eat together anyway. The nights he got drunk with his knights and Merlin carried him to his bed. The nights with thunderstorms which Arthur treasured because Merlin always stayed until he was asleep and sang Hunith's song to him. He started doing that in the early years when Arthur got drunk on a night with a thunderstorm and admitted he was scared of them. When he was a child, he was afraid of the loud noise and the lightning so his nanny sang to him to comfort him. He had told Merlin that so whenever it was storming out, the servant stayed the night with Arthur to insure he had a good night's sleep and never had nightmares.

Once all of the memories passed, he hugged the warlock, surprising both his sister and the warlock himself. "Thank you for everything, my friend."

He whispered and Merlin hugged him back. "You're welcome, Moy righ." He let go of him with a curious look.

"What does that mean? Moy righ?" Merlin smiled.

"It means 'my king' in Scottish Gaelic*. Gauis taught it to me." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Gauis would teach you that." Merlin shrugged but quickly looked between the two.

"Do you have any more questions for me? Because I think I need to get back to camp soon so I can meet you in Ealdor." The siblings looked to each other and shook their heads.

"When and where in Ealdor are we meeting?" Merlin asked as he looked between them.

"We can meet at your mother's house." Morgana suggested and the boys agreed.

"We were planning on arriving later this week so we could stay with that plan. Leave some of the knights back in Camelot but still arrive at around the same time." Arthur pointed out and the other two nodded along.

"Ok, so later this week at my mother's house? Sounds good to me." They all agreed to the plan and Merlin sent them back to Camelot.

Using his magic, he propelled himself back to his body and to his camp. He settled down to actually sleep and sighed.

 _I get to see Mother again. I miss her._ Was the last thought going through his mind before sleep took him until morning.

 ***It's Scottish Gaelic for _My King_ , or close to it anyway.**

 ***Sorry for any history/language nerds out there. I don't know if Scottish Gaelic was a thing back then but for my story, and that nickname, it's going to be. I chose it because I liked the way it sounded and it was easy enough to say.**

 **Alright guys! Super sorry this is so late! Between work, my mother, my nephew, and thinking of the questions they would ask, it took me _forever_ to finish this chapter alone! I kept rewriting and rewriting it because I never liked the way it turned out but this one is good enough for now. I might edit it or change bits of it later but not until the story itself is actually completed, if we get that far that is. Please, please read the note at the begining _before_ reviewing. That is the only warning I'm giving for haters. This is my version and has barely anything to do with the show itself! I'm just borrowing characters and adding a few of my own! This is my story and if you don't like it, _stop reading it!_ It's freaking commen sense!**

 **Sorry, rant over. Anyway! Next chapter should be with the normal posting schedule of wednesday, if it isn't you all have full permission to yell at me, by review or pm. See you all soon!! ~I.E.A**


	5. Author's note! Please Read

Hey Everyone!! Quick Author's note here. This story is going on hold until I can push myself to write again. Honestly, I had no idea where I was going with this anyway so with having no idea what my end game is, I've decided to figure that out first before I continue the story itself. I may publish a few short stories in the meantime from my previous accounts on other sites. I am not writing, I am just transferring. I know many of you like this story but I cannot see where it is headed so I am simply pausing it's continuation until I know for sure. Hopefully, I will figure it out soon but for now, goodbye everyone. ~Icy


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